Construction on a new cancer
centre in Prince George means
some northern patients are one
step closer to receiving treatment without tiresome drives.
Premier Gordon Campbell
says the service will eliminate
the need for northern residents
to travel south for treatment.
But residents of the Robson
Valley will still have to commute to Prince George for
treatment.
Pam Tobin of the Northern
Cancer Control Strategy says
the new facility will offer more
reasonable
accommodation
for patients and accompanying
family who still need to travel
the distance.
The Centre for the North will
also offer patients and their
families more care options such
as radiation therapy.
The 5,000-square-metre centre will be the B.C. Cancer
Agency’s sixth regional cancer centre. It will also include
a computerized-tomography
simulator; a chemotherapy
treatment unit; a pharmacy;
and general outpatient clinics.
The total capital cost of the
Northern Cancer Control Strategy is $102.8 million, funded
almost entirely by the province.
Construction and operation of
the project is contracted as a
public-private partnership with
a capital cost of $69.9 million.

Shirley Bond, Prince GeorgeValemount MLA, says they
have been waiting for this for a
very long time.
“For decades we have been
asking to find ways to keep cancer patients closer to home, surrounded by their loved ones.”
The B.C. Cancer Agency has
contracted Plenary Health to
design, build, and maintain the
new centre for 30 years.
Key design features include
the first green roof in Prince
George, as well as extensive
use of wood, a decision Minister of Forests and Range, Pat
Bell, says reflects one of the primary industries in the North.
Construction-related projects
should create around 445 direct construction jobs over the
life of the project.
According to provincial health
analysts, the annual number of
new cancer diagnoses in northern B.C. is projected to reach
approximately 1,628 by 2020
– an increase of nearly 26 per
cent from 2010.
The Centre for the North will
be a key resource for Northern Health’s community cancer clinics located across the
region, said Dr. Charles Jago,
Northern Health board chair.
The new cancer facility if part
of a three-year, $2.6-billion
health-sector capital plan by
the province.

Photo: Laura Keil
Betty Huegle of Edmonton says her dogs Buddy, Peewee and Sweet Pea get very upset if she goes quading without them. The dogs, a Chihuahua-Yorkie cross, were out with Huegle who was quading with Floyd and Travis
Hammond on Canoe Mountain Road last weekend just outside of Valemount.

A Blue River man and a Jasper man are close to the 24hour world championship for
mountain biking in Australia
after placing at the 24-Hours
of Adrenaline competition in
Canmore last week.
Cory Wallace of Jasper placed
first and Andy Aufschnaiter of
Blue River placed eighth at the
race of some 1,500 people.
It was Aufschnaiter’s first time

at the races. The 47-year-old ski
instructor from Blue River says
the adrenaline was definitely
there.
“You’re so charged up,” he says.
“My heart rate was so high.”
He says he entered the race
to learn about what his body is
capable of doing. The race takes
place on a 16.5 km track. Wallace finished 20 laps around
the track in the 24 hours. Auf-

schnaiter did 15.
“It’s a tough race,” Aufschnaiter says. “After 16 hours
my body broke down.”
He said he started too fast
and paid for it later. It was 4
a.m. when his body said it had
had enough. He had to rest half
an hour, he says. That is the
only time he stopped for more
than the time it took to eat and
drink.
Cont’ A6

More Inside:
24 hours of adrenaline

A colony of harpists in McBride

A2 Wednesday, August 04 2010

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Mud races struggle to keep mud

Laura Keil
lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

The riding was hot last weekend at
Valemount first-ever mud bog races - a
little too hot, perhaps.
“There’s not enough mud,” said North
West Mud Racing Association President
Dave Biddlecombe on a very hot Saturday afternoon as he grabbed a hose and
began spraying water on the track during intermission.
The dual 200-foot long tracks were
a foot deep, but the water just wouldn’t
stay in the pit as it should.
This didn’t stop Rod Dobson from
having a good ride, however. He zipped
his truck, Lethal Injection, down the pit
in 3.3 seconds. The dry sand helped him
accelerate to 100 km/h by the end of the
track, he says.
“It’s lots of fun.”
Dobson, like many competitors, built
his vehicle himself and has been working on it roughly eight years.
Steven Harabie built his vehicle too,
completely out of salvaged materials.
“I hate waste,” he said as he fine-tuned
his machine before the race.
Harabie was run over by a vehicle at

the races in Chiliwack last year, but is
back again this year. He says his vehicle
is outfitted with many safety precautions and last year was simply a stroke
of bad luck.
Some $8,000 was paid out to the winners of the mud bog races last weekend. Several dozen people competed
in the race which saw a good turnout,
organizers say.

Photos: Laura Keil

North West Mud Racing Association President Dave Biddlecombe hoses down the
race track during an intermission Saturday. The hot day and sandy soil meant less
than ideal conditions for the mud racing.
Taylor Harabie, 4, and Kiara Harabie, 7,
were happy to be part of the mud races
with their dad Steven. Rod Dobson says
the dry sand helped him to drive faster in
his vehicle “Lethal Injection.”

The George Hicks park trail has long
offered visitors a chance to picnic next
to Swift Creek and watch salmon spawn
just west of Highway 16 in Valemount.
This year, a new trail will be completed
in the park, offering visitors a chance to
take a scenic nature walk not far from
the highway.
Local workers were not commissioned
this year to work on the trail, however.
Regional district parks spokesperson
Petra Wildauer says that two out of
three local workers left the project last
year, and with that turn-over rate the
hiring process is too costly.
“We have limited time to complete a
project throughout the construction
season,” Wildauer said. “Due to the experience from last year, with the time
spent trying to hire local people, the remaining work in the amount of time defined can be completed by staff already
employed by the regional district.”
Work on the new $10,000 trail began
three years ago, and is set to end this
September. The funds came from the
Community Tourism program through
the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
Four staff from the district are working on the trail. The path is intended to
connect the Valemount Visitor Centre
to the park and provide information on
the marsh system. Local Village of Valemount staff are taking care of the park
maintenance.
The long-term plan for the park is to
add interpretive signage, another salmon-viewing area and shelter near Swift
Creek.

Stop signs will be installed at
the intersection of 5th Avenue
and Elm Street. There are currently two stop signs headed
north-south on Elm Street, but
none on 5th Avenue headed
east-west. Village councillors
voted unanimously to install
the signs at that corner, citing
concerns from residents about
limited visiblity because of the
planters.
On Tuesday Aug. 24th, the Village will help host a reception
for former mayor Jeannette
Townsend in honour of the
B.C. Achievement Award she
received this spring. The date

and time are to be announced.
Terracana will be meeting with
the province in mid-August to
discuss the proposed zip line
near Valemount.
Seniors will likely be able to
move into their new B.C. Housing homes in Valemount by
Dec. 1st.
The grand openings of the seniors housing, water treatment
plant and downtown revitalization will be celebrated together.
Next council meeting is Tuesday Aug. 10th at 7 p.m.

The Rocky Mountain Goat is produced and distributed by ‘The Rocky Mountain
Goat News’ and is subject to copyright. Reproduction, or distribution of any article,
photo, or other content must recieve prior consent from Joseph Nusse (Co-Owner/
Publisher) or Laura Keil (Co-Owner/Editor).

Illustrations by Luke Siemens

The Rocky Mountain Goat is a free distribution newspaper serving a population base of approximately 4,000 residents from Blue River and Valemount, to McBride and Dome Creek.

Please check off the appropriate boxes, fill out all of the lines, cut out the
form along the dotted line, and mail with a cheque, or money order to:
Subscription
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Box 21
Valemount, BC
V0E 2Z0

A dozen harpists sit in a circle, arms
reaching across the strings of their instruments. On a cue they begin to play,
and their music fills the room with vibration.
It’s the first annual harp colony in McBride, far from the heat and noise of the
city where many of the participants are
from.
“Everyone is enjoying McBride so
much,” says Regina Timmins of Calgary,
who co-founded the event. “The Indy
500 is going on in Calgary right now, so
all over the city you hear ‘raaaayyyr!’”
A dozen harpists from across western Canada, including some from McBride, joined the colony which ran the
last week of July. It’s a week-long retreat
where participants can have one-on-one
lessons, get their harp fine-tuned by a
harp technician, or learn a duet with a
new partner.
Roberta Froese, 19, of McBride, was
one of the locals who took part in the
retreat. She has been playing the harp
for four years.
“I like it because it’s different and I like
to be different,” she says.
She ordered her harp through a catalogue and built it with the help of her
brother.
Last week she sat in the cool rehearsal
room at the North Country Lodge for
her private lesson with Gianetta Baril,
as Baril explained the finger motions of
a new song.
Froese has already played at two wed-

Instructor and co-founder Regina Timmins says McBride is a great location for the harp colony. Participants such as Caroline Parker travelled from Calgary for the week-long retreat.

Photos: Laura Keil

dings, including her brother’s this July.
Giving young harpists a chance to expand their skills is part of the idea behind the colony Baril says. As a teacher,
she is learning too.
“I’m really enjoying it,” she says. “I’m
going from room to room, whereas at
home I’ll teach seven hours straight
though.”
She says her goal is to pick out how
she can help the student within the
week they have. It’s different approach
to teaching, she says, especially for the
students she will only see this week.
“It’s nice to teach some students that
aren’t necessarily my own.”
Next summer harpists from around
the world will travel to Vancouver for
the World Harp Congress. Timmins
says they will promote the McBride
gathering there with the hope that many
more people will come to pluck strings
in the Robson Valley.
She says they will hold the McBride
colony either right before or right after
the Vancouver Congress. They may also
extend the colony for 2 weeks.
McBride is the perfect setting for the
event, she says.
“In Vancouver, even though there may
be more students, for people to come in
it’s too expensive.”
She said participants were able to stay
in McBride for $900 for the entire week.
Next year there will once again be performances for non-harpists, private lessons, and a chance for beginners to test
their playing.

A6

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Heavy and obscure is the instrument of change

Laura Keil
lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

Harpers’ colony. No, it isn’t our Prime
Minister’s shovel-ready plan to give his
family jobs. The harp players are not on
the provincial government’s slate either.
But wait. These well-postured musicians are hauling their instruments
many miles in search of the perfect spot
to nest. And McBride may benefit from
their choice.
Last week more than a dozen harpists gathered at a hotel in McBride for
a week-long harp retreat. Members of
the public were invited to concerts and
to try out a harp for themselves. Harpists plucked from a number of options
including private lessons and ensemble
work – and at affordable rates, organizers say.
Next year will be the big year, as organizers get ready to promote the event
at the World Harp Congress in Vancouver. Their marketing pitch is simple:
McBride may be out of the way, but it is
quiet, affordable, and friendly.
The people of McBride will most certainly benefit from the harpists’ choice.

Photo: Laura Keil
The Kimberley accordion championships have grown from humble beginnings into an event
that draws up to 5,000 people each year.

Two weeks ago, I drove down to Kimberley, B.C. to meet my Grandma for the
international old-time accordion championships. It’s been running for 37 years.
Today the festival sees upward of 3,000
visitors. They fill the streets. They fill the
hotels. Their RVs fill the campgrounds
and the lawns of obliging locals. My
grandparents once camped in someone’s front yard.
But the dubbed “accordion invasion”
began much more humbly. An article
from the local paper describes the festival’s first year in 1974:

“Accordion contest held – little interest may force re-location.”
The year it began was only two years
after Kimberley made it its mandate
to become a “little Bavaria.” Over the
years, the accordion championship
grew in attendance, size and reputation
as the only old-time accordion festival
in North America. People flocked from
all over the globe to eye the bellows of
names such as Myron Floren.
Accordions are hated by many, but
for those who hold a stubborn love of
the instrument, being surrounded by

people who appreciate the music is like
a homecoming. Many people come back
every year, says organizer Jeany Irvin,
and sometimes it’s the only time they
see certain friends.
The event is a huge plus for the Kimberley economy. Volunteers come from
all over to help.
“I think it’s more important than anyone can imagine,” Irvin says. “It brings a
lot of people to town.”
Kimberley, population 7,000, was
home to the largest lead-zinc mine in
the world until it shut down in 2001.
While the city took a hit, its identity
as the “Bavarian City in the Rockies”
and events such as the accordion festival ensure its economy remains viable
throughout the year.
Irvin says hosting the event in a
smaller centre has many advantages.
The friendliness of the town, the uncrowded streets and the excellent campgrounds are all suited to hosting. She
says their best advertising is word of
mouth.
Unlike when you play the accordion,
strumming the harp is unlikely to get
you nailed in the head with a pillow by
your roommate. But the obscurity of the
harp still means you’re unlikely to find
too harpists or instructors nearby. The
event could grow into something that
draws harpists from around the world.
They will come to listen to the melodic
strumming reverberating through the
Valley.

Adrenaline cycle
Cont’ from A1
He says some people slept two or three says unless he finds funds
hours.
for the flight, he won’t be
“You’re abusing your body a lot,” Auf- going to the world chamschnaiter says. “It’s something you have pionships in Australia
to train for, for sure.”
this October.
He says his diet and
He will comexercise regime play a “I started way too fast pete soon in
big role in his success and then I had to pay the TransRockat the race. He’s been for it during the night.” ies Challenge, a
training seriously for
seven-day solo
Andy Aufschnaiter,
long-distance biking
mountain bike
eighth place at the
for the last six years.
race between
Teams also competed 24-hour mountain bike Fernie,
B.C.
competition
in the race, alternating
and Canmore,
their racers throughout
Alta.
the day. The soloists did
Andy Aufschnaiter only
the entire 24 hours by themselves.
rested for 30 minutes
Aufschnaiter says doing a variety of
during the 24-hour race.
activities such as skiing and swimming
Right: his last lap.
are a good way to train.
Although he qualified, Aufschnaiter

Submitted Photo

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Tales of a brave Ulysses

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Local man returns after seven years wandering the other
side of the Pacific

A7

Robson Valley
Weather
Wednesday

Joseph Nusse
jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

It was not supposed to last boats.
more than a year or so, but
“Laos was by far my favourite
when local high school gradu- country of all the countries I
ate Johnathan Anthony left have ever been to, but for all of
Canada to visit his sister in the ‘wrong’ reasons” he laughs.
Australia in April of 2003, he
“It was very poor and the pohad no idea that he was about litical system was messed up,
to embark on a seven year ex- but this created a lot of regional
tended working vacation.
autonomy. As soon as you left
He spent one and a half years the borders, there was almost
between Australia and New no government presence.”
Zealand working a variety of
“The people deal with their
jobs from picking bananas to own situations. Most people
operating machinery. He even made everything themselves. It
worked as a salesman selling is a land-locked country. There
desktop and laptop computers. also seemed to be alot of reThe pivotal moment in An- gional social order there even
thony’s life came when in Feb- without any police. You go to
ruary of 2005 he was faced with a bridge and it would just be
a dilemma.
constructed by a family and
“I had a French girlfriend in they would sit there and collect
New Zealand. I promised her I a fee.”
would go travelling with her to
He also notes other social atThailand is she wanted to go. I tractions to Laos.
was going to come back to Can“The women in Laos were
ada at this point,
very modest. It
“We did catch fish and was so unlike
but she decided
some giant clams. We Thailand with its
to go alone if I
tried to get a ray with a sex trade.”
would not go
spear, but failed.”
with her. I knew
Anthony
also
that
Thailand
ventured
into
John Anthony on
was a dangerous
Vietnam for six
spending
a
week
on
a
place, so I deweeks with an
deserted island
cided to go with
English guy he
her.”
met. They rented
And with that, Anthony em- motorcycles, hiked the tallest
barked on an Asia odyssey mountain in the country, and
which would keep him from ventured into the remote north.
returning to Canada for five
According to Anthony, there
more years. He says that his is still animosity in northern
experience was a progression Vietnam towards some westthat went deeper and deeper erners.
into the root of many regional
“We met this one woman in
Asian cultures.
the north who spoke really
“When I first got to Thailand, I good English. She was from a
was pre-occupied with my girl- tribe. We hung out in the hills
friend, but then we went to the with her in her village. One day
north, to Changmai, and then we went to another village with
even further into Laos. At this her husband. It was really weird.
point our relationship started They wanted to fight him, I
failing. I felt that she was not think because he brought a forrespecting the local culture to eigner in with him. We expethe extent that is was rude.”
rienced some tribal animosity
Anthony recalls Laos as be- first hand, but in the end it was
ing particularly eye opening, all good, though I did get bit by
especially once he made it into a dog,” he says and laughs.
regions accessible only by river
For Anthony, yet another

Sun
31
9

Thursday

Sun
27
8

Friday

Johnathan Anthony has been teaching in Asia several years. He graduated
from Valemount Secondary School in 2002.

country was to be explored.
They went into Cambodia and
saw Ankor Wat, the famous
temple built during the 12th
Century as well as ‘The Killing
Fields’.
After the Americans pulled
out of Vietnam in 1975, the
Khmer Rouge, an extreme
communist regime, took control of Cambodia. For Anthony
learning about the atrocities
committed at these sites was an
eye opener.
“They warped communism
into a hatred for all things urban. They would raid cities and
look for ‘urbanites’. People with
glasses, for example.”
They would torture and kill at
these fields. Two million people
died between 1975 and 1979.
Analyzing social differences
started becoming more noticeable for Anthony at this point.
Cambodia’s GDP is much
higher than Laos, but in Laos
nobody begs, he says, as they
have a working social structure.
In Cambodia this was noticeably lacking.
“I went to the dump and
people lived there. In that same
town, there were Hummers in
the street. In Laos, everybody
was poor together and happier.”
He went back to Thailand and
met up with Justin Black, a high
school buddy. They ventured

south into Malaysia where they
went to Tama Negara National
Park, which some say is the
oldest jungle in the world.
Anthony could not help but
note social differences in Malaysia as well.
“I could see how the age or
maturity of a good economy
reflected in the people. In Malaysia, a lot of stuff was older,
but still worked. In Thailand,
everyone drives a new car because they have newer money.
Malaysia is richer, but they have
had money longer. In Malaysia
they have landline telephones.
In Thailand, they only have cell
phones.”
Anthony says that it was at
this point in his trip that money
constraints started to become
a reality as the funds he had
saved while working in Australia and New Zealand started to
dwindle.
He went back to Thailand and
started teaching. But he was not
a teacher. So he got a fake diploma.
“It seemed like they really
did not care as long as I could
teach.”
The transition from carefree
traveller to teacher was not
easy, however.
“It was simple English, but
I had to get used to being a
teacher. I was teaching at a high

Cloud/Rain 70%
24
11

Saturday

Cloud/Rain 60%
21
11

Sunday

Cloud/Rain 60%
20
11

Monday

Rain 40%
20
10

school. I did not have training,
so I did make a lot of mistakes
at first.”
Anthony would spend 10
months teaching in Thailand,
along with his high school
friend Black.
He says he spent alot of time
learning how to speak Thai.
“I also had a Thai girlfriend
who helped me learn, so I
started hanging out with locals
more.”
But adventuring was not over
for Anthony despite his newfound professionalism.

‘Anthony’ cont’ A11

Attention all Robson Valley tourism businesses:
The Rocky Mountain Goat is now distributed free in Jasper AND Mt. Robson

A8

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

More snags for
Dunster school
Laura Keil
lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

With the beginning of the school year
less than a month away, community
members in Dunster trying to keep the
elementary school open for classes are
facing more hurdles.
The school district sent the recentlyformed Dunster Fine Arts School Society an offer to sell the school for over
$39,000.
The school society had submitted a
request for the school for $10, on the
advice of members of the school district
in June, says Dunster resident Chris
Taylor. The district now wants fair market value for the land, she says.
“It was never more than a nominal
amount,” Taylor says of the conversations they had had with the district before the formal sale offer. “That’s where
this $10 offer came from. That’s the path
we were led down.”

The school district wanted a downpayment of several thousand dollars
and the full amount by the end of July.
Taylor says the school society is trying
to organize a face-to-face meeting with
the district. The school district says they
are not discussing their counter-offer
with the school society and have not
met to review the society’s response.
“There are no discussions. We sent
them out counter offer and they sent
one back,” says school board vice-chair
Lois Boone. “We have not come together to meet to discuss this counter offer.”
The school district has officially closed
the school, and students were expected
to attend elementary schools in McBride or Valemount, both some 35 minutes away.

Courtesy Local Ride Bike Shop
Jean Ann McKirdy of Valemount placed eighth in the biggest national mountain biking race
of the year, the Canadian Mountain Bike Championships in Canmore Alberta July 15-18.

Do you like The Rocky Mountain Goat?
Tell your municipal, regional, and provincial government representatives that you would like to read announcements in The Rocky Mountain Goat

As owners, we live here too!

Peter Amyoony
Special to The Goat

Gardening with Pete

Most gardeners know that the quickest way to lose a crop is to forget to
water their garden. Many vegetable
crops such as tomatoes or celery are
up to 95% water. If starved for water,
they will produce smaller, less juicy and
fewer fruits.
If there is not a film of water surrounding the tiny root hairs the
nutrients do not get to the plant. The
plant will stop growing and goes from
growth mode to crisis mode. The leaves
will toughen, blossoms will appear too
early, the sugar content of the fruit goes
down, the plant bolts and tries to go to
seed, some roots die and leaves will fall
off. Plants in stress like this are much
more attractive to diseases and pests. A
gardener’s aim is to have steady growth
from seed to harvest. A steady water
supply is the key.
Good watering begins long before
you reach for the hose. By deep digging
in the spring, adding lots of compost
and other organic matter and planting
in beds so you are not walking on the

root zone all help the soil to stay loose
and hold moisture better. Compost can
hold six times its own weight in water.
The average plant needs around 1 inch
(2.5 cm) of water per week. However,
small seedlings may need more in hot
weather and closely spaced plants or
those that are mulched may need much
less. Onions and garlic need no water
when they begin to die down. You have
to use your judgement and experience
to decide when and how much to water.
The general guidelines are:
1.
Don’t let the plant leaves wilt.
This show that their roots have used all
the available water and the plant has
started to withdraw water from their
extremities to survive.
2.
Learn how to feel your soil for
moisture content. Pick up a handful of
soil and gently squeeze it into a ball.
Open your hand and gently touch the
ball of soil with a finger of the other
hand. If you can squeeze water out of
it or if it comes apart in large lumps, it
is too wet. If it falls apart by itself when

you open your hand, it is too dry. If it
crumbles evenly into small granules
when you touch it, it is pretty well right.
Water needs can vary greatly
throughout the lifetime of a plant. At
the seed and seedling stage, constant
moisture is necessary to insure germination and growth until the roots get
deeper into the soil. Then less frequent
and deeper watering is
better. You can check
with your hand to be sure
water is going down 4-6
inches (10-15 cm). Then
the top few inches can dry
out before the next watering. Remember, roots and
organisms in the soil need
air as well as water.
It is good to remember
that clay soils retain water
well but take it in more
slowly. You will likely have
to water less often but for
a longer time. Sandy soils
absorb water quicker but

lose it more quickly too. It is best to water more often but for shorter periods.
Pete Amyoony is a gardener in
the Robson Valley of central B.C.
high in the Rocky Mountains
near Mount Robson. He has lived,
worked and gardened in the Dunster area for almost thirty years.

www.therockymountaingoat.com

The Tourism Directory

Call Joe at 250-566-1444 or
jnusse@therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

A9

$40 for 4 weeks, or $20 for one week

Teepee Meadows Cottage

Spectacular mountain and marshland scenery
Phone:250-566-9875
Located 3 km west of Valemount

We have lowered our rates!
placing your business card
in the Business or
Tourism Directory now
costs only $40/4 weeks.

The Business Directory

Briefs:
ADDITIONAL FIREFIGHTING
CREWS WELCOMED
British Columbia is welcoming additional personnel from Alberta and Ontario to help B.C. fire crews as fire activity continues to increase around the
province.
The Alberta and Ontario personnel
will be placed mainly to the Cariboo
and Kamloops Fire Centres, but placement will also be determined based on
fire activity and anticipated need. Importing additional crews will also help
ensure all firefighting staff get their required time off in accordance with safe
work standards.
Two hundred and thirty experienced
firefighters and fire specialists are arriving Sunday, August 1. This includes
10 four-person initial attack crews, five
20-person sustained action unit crews,
three highly specialized incident command teams, fire behaviour analysts,
incident commanders and division supervisors.
British Columbia has also acquired 14
additional aircraft, including birddog
planes and airtankers from the Province’s two airtanker suppliers, and from

Alberta and the Yukon. The Provincial
Air Tanker Centre is establishing a temporary facility at the Quesnel Airport to
accommodate these additional aircraft.
All deployments are co-ordinated
through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, with the Ministry of
Forests and Range’s Wildfire Management Branch paying the costs of the
deployments. Earlier this year, British
Columbia sent crews to four other jurisdictions to help with their firefighting
efforts.
Right now, 353 wildfires are burning in
the province, 150 of which started over
the last three days. Since April 1, crews
around the province have responded to
1,100 wildfires, of which 487 have been
human-caused, 580 lightning-caused
and 33 are still under investigation.
These fires have burned a total of 59,781
hectares.
In BC, two air tanker pilots as well as
one civilian have died as a result of wildfires, and suppresion efforts this summer to date.

1,598 HECTARES OF COASTAL
DOUGLAS-FIR TO BE PROTECTED
Under a new land use order, British
Columbia will increase the protection
of the Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem on
provincial Crown land to almost 40 per
cent,
“Protecting an additional 1,598 hectares is an important step in our ongoing effort to preserve B.C.’s Coastal
Douglas-fir ecosystem,” said Minister of
Forests and Range Pat Bell. “Most of the
ecosystem lies on private and municipal
land, so even with the Province’s significant contribution to conservation, only
six per cent of the Coastal Douglas-fir
Zone is protected. We will continue to
work with local governments and private landowners to ensure everyone is
doing what they can to be part of the
solution.”
The Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem
is home to 29 endangered plant communities. Eighty per cent of the global
range of Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem
occurs in the southern Strait of Georgia
area. Of the 256,800 hectares in British
Columbia, only nine per cent, or 23,500
hectares, is provincially owned.

The additional 1,598 hectares will increase the amount of provincial Coastal
Douglas-fir Crown land protected from
logging and other resource development activities to 9,197 hectares.
The majority of new areas selected for
protection are on the east coast of Vancouver Island, between Courtenay and
Nanaimo. Provincial Ecologists considered a number of criteria when deciding
which parcels to include for protection.
These included land parcel size, adjacency to already protected areas, risk of
being disturbed, landscape context and
ecological diversity.
In addition, social and economic
considerations, as well as existing commitments for First Nations treaty settlements, were also factors in parcel
selection. During the public review and
comment period that closed in February 2010, more than 1,000 individual
submissions were received.
Eleven per cent of Coastal Douglas-Fir
ecosystems are owned by other levels of
government and 80 per cent is in private
ownership.

A10

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Plain Talk Horoscopes

Twenty for a Toonie: The Classified Ads
Classified ads policy
If it is for free, it is free.
Up to 20 words for $2,
30 words for $3, 40
words for $4 etc. If the
asking price is over
$499, then it is $5 for 20
words, $6 for 30 words
etc.
Non-business
announcements are welcome at the same rates.
The Rocky Mountain
Goat reserves the right
to refuse to print any
classified submission
that is not an advertisement of a private sale,
or rental arrangement.
How to submit an ad

To submit your
classified ad, e-mail
or call the goat, or
place your ad in an
envelope with payment and drop it in
our mailbox, 1070
5th Ave

By Craig Elder, M.A. Economics

Used Building Materials

For Sale

Wanted

Salvaged metal siding for
sale. Perfect for any outbuilding or shop. Approximately 550-600 square foot
coverage. Will consider any
offer! Call Joe 250-566-1444

Mobile Home with full addition, and large garage
on a lot, in Valemount recently renovated. comes w/
fridge stove washer dryer.
Currently rented. Asking
$110.000.00 O.B.O
Call 778 328 7285 leave a
message.

For Free
For free! Desperately seeking a good home for a small
3-year old blue-healer-rottweiller cross male dog, or if
you can also provide tempoSudoku,
rary foster parenting as well,
please call: 250-566-0173.

Dunster Family Dance - Saturday, August 7th from 7pm to 10pm- Bring the children,
grandpa and the whole family and learn a few new dances or steps. Instruction from
7-8pm and short sessions throughout the evening. Lots of variety dances ( waltz, fox-trot,
polka, cha-cha, two-step-schottische, etc). Pot luck snacks at 9pm and then more dancing
until 10pm.
Admission - $5 for anyone over 12 - maximum of $10 per family. Dust off your dancing
shoes and join in the fun! These family dances will take place on the first Saturday of each
month throughout the year. All welcome!!

Aries: You will achieve enlightenment on this date,
but not this year.
Taurus: Do not attempt large budget magic tricks
this week, it will end poorly.
Gemini: You will be very creative today, sadly your
papier mache does not impress your co-workers.
Cancer: Follow your nose this week, it won’t steer
you wrong. You might put on a few pounds though.
Leo:The focus is on you this week, don’t embarrass
yourself like you did last time.
Virgo: Libras will be extra nice to you this week.
Libra: You best butter up a Virgo if you want them
to do that favour for you next week.
Scorpio: Take an extra treat while no one is looking.
Sagittarius: Your life will get a sudden influx of
excitement as you are recruited to a top secret black
ops commando team.
Capricorn: The stars are out of alignment this week,
you best get them in the right places before someone notices.
Aquarius: Love, money and happiness are in the
cards for you, but the universe knows you stacked
the deck while it was in the washroom.
Kakuro
& Futoshiki Puzzles
Pieces: People have been walking all over you and
you’ve ‘haddock’ up to here with their ways.

1

6

5

3

2

8

7

9

8
www.sudoku-puzzles.net

Be the first to sponsor the $2 classified ads!
Solution:

Let The Rocky Mountain Goat assist your business
www.sudoku-puzzles.net
with targeted marketing ideas.
Exclusive 2.25 inches high by a whole page width at the bottom of the calssified page for $75/week

3

www.therockymountaingoat.com

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

A11

Legendary Canadian
mountaineer passes
away

Spent last years in Tete Jaune and Jasper
Laura Keil
lkeil@therockymountaingoat.com

He could be as crazy as a cougar swinging off a chandelier
some days. But if he stood you toe to toe, looked you square
in the eye and shook your hand, his word was his honour.
He rode away an honourable man. He called me “Crazy
Horse”... sometimes... I miss him...
Fondly remembered, your friends HorseThief, John and
Karen.

An esteemed mountain guide has died,
leaving a legacy of strength and courage
in his wake.
Willi Pfisterer was 83 when he passed
away at the end of July. He was known
throughout the world for mountain rescues, which he had often performed twice
a day.
The Jasper and Tete-Jaune resident
helped map the backcountry around Jasper and the Robson Valley, guiding Pierre
Elliot Trudeau and training dozens of
safety officers.
“He was very strong,” recalls Alf Burstrom, who worked with Pfisterer for many years. “Mentally and physically.”
Pfisterer grew up in a family of mountain guides near Salzburg, Austria. He climbed his first 3,000-metre peak at age 11 and competed on
the national Nordic ski team. He came to Quebec’s Laurentian mountains in 1955 where he taught skiing. His first Canadian climb was a
solo ascent of Mount Sir Donald in Rogers Pass.
He began doing mountain rescues for Parks Canada soon afterward.
“There were always close calls,” Burstrom says of Pfisterer’s rescues.
“But he was always able to work it out.”
Pfisterer helped develop the Rogers Pass’ avalanche research program. He trained wardens through rescue school and in 1968 became
Parks Canada Alpine Specialist responsible for Jasper, Revelstoke, Glacier, Kluane and Nahanni parks.
Until a recent illness, Pfisterer split his time between a home in Jasper
and a home in Tete-Jaune. His funeral was held last week in Jasper.

Mandarine translators in high demand
‘Anthony’ cont’ from A7

He had an Australian friend come visit and they went to Borneo for five weeks,
where they spent seven days on a deserted island. They brought only rice.
“We did catch fish and some giant clams. We tried to get a ray with a spear, but
failed. We also could have got a turtle, but decided not to.”
For Anthony, a new frontier was becoming visible, but not for adventure, rather for
professional opportunities.
“I left Thailand around 2006 to Taiwan. I went to work as a teacher. Their standards were much higher, but the pay was good, almost twenty dollars an hour. I
started going to classes to learn how to write Mandarin within nine months of arriving in Taiwan.”
But learning the language was not enough for Anthony. For Anthony, Taiwan was
becoming a transition point in his life, and he started thinking about university.
“I had to pass a test to get into college but I was also teaching English full time.
I was very busy, very focussed. I also stopped speaking English altogether at one

point. I stayed away from other foreigners, as I did in Thailand, because all they
would talk about was their sex-tourism experiences.”
Anthony has now completed one year working towards a degree in geography
at a university in Taipei. Everything is taught in Mandarin. Anthony learned the
language both through formal lessons and self-study. He will go back to finish three
more years.
“My grades are good, and I am doing well.”
For the summer, Anthony will be spending time in Valemount, as well as working
out of 108 Mile House, but he will be Asia-bound by the beginning of September.
He has already started doing some translating for pay. He says other career paths
may lie in the immigration industry, for example becoming an immigration officer.
Anthony is already seeing a career as a translator as being rewarding.
“As a good translator with a name I could make a few grand a month living anywhere I want. The demand for Mandarin translators is huge right now.”

The Rocky Mountain Goat is available weekly on Wednesdays. Next issue: Aug. 11 , 2010

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